Lila Sciences' AI lab screens 2,942 catalysts in 3 months, cracks green hydrogen's OER problem
tw_killian · x · 2026-09-25
Lila Sciences' AI-directed lab proposed, synthesized, and screened 2,942 catalysts in three months for acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) — the chemistry bottlenecking green hydrogen for 50 years — identifying 6 high-performing material families.
- Green hydrogen catalysts have long relied on iridium, one of Earth's rarest metals with only a few tonnes mined per year
- The AI surfaced a palladium-based lead the field had written off, now past 1,000 hours of testing in acid
- Electrochemist Ken Jenewein initially thought the model had gone astray after only a few learning cycles; two science leads with 40 years of combined materials experience also doubted it — until experiments confirmed the AI was right
- The result showcases an end-to-end workflow pairing domain experts with proactive AI models
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